The Critics' Circle is a professional association of British critics of dance, drama, film, music, visual arts and architecture. It was established in 1913 as an offshoot of the Society of Dramatic Critics, which had been formed six years earlier but had become inactive.

For many years the Circle refrained from granting awards, but in 1980 the critics from the Film section (aka the London Film Critics Circle) established the ALFS Awards to acknowledge special achievements in the cinema.

These annual film awards have become a major event in London, with a celebrity-studded banquet held in a West End hotel, since 1995 for the benefit of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

In 1989 the Drama section organized the first of its Critics' Circle Theatre Awards ceremonies, which are more intimate lunchtime affairs.

It was not until 2002 that Dance awards were presented. To date, the Music section, loth to single out individual artists for approval, continues to refuse to award prizes.

Each year since 1988 the Circle has presented the Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, voted for by all members of the Circle. The award takes the form of an engraved crystal rose bowl presented at a celebratory luncheon. The 2008 winner was Peter Brook.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• IMDb listing